


Happy Birthday

by Cornbread5287



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Established Relationship, Fluff, Highschool AU, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, seriously lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 17:48:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6866905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornbread5287/pseuds/Cornbread5287
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rick is going to make sure that Daryl enjoys his birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. First, this fic uses up two of my bingo squares: Birthday and Coffee. (No the coffee one totally is not cheating. Probably.)
> 
> Second, a million thanks to Skarlatha, the most wonderful beta in the whole wide world. Big thanks to the RWG and to Kittysaurus and Bennyhatter for accidentally helping me come up with this idea. 
> 
> In this fic, Daryl is a 15 year old freshman (turning 15 in the fic) and Rick is a 16 year old junior.

“Happy birthday, gorgeous,” Rick said when he walked into the cafeteria, all toothy smiles and bright eyes. He sat next to Daryl as the redneck scoffed.

“Ain’t happy and I ain’t  _ gorgeous _ ,” Daryl muttered grumpily.

Daryl hated his birthdays. Something bad had always happened on his birthday. His mother dying, Merle getting hauled off to jail, his father skipping town and not coming back- all on his birthday. Hell, just that morning at the boys’ home one of the older boys had shoved Daryl out of the bathroom, using all the hot water and forcing the freshman to take a cold shower.

“Someone’s grouchy,” Rick said as he munched his chewy school cafeteria bacon. He glanced over at the younger boy he’d been dating for months now, nudging him so Daryl would look at him.

“Today is gunna be a good day, Daryl,” Rick said, looking into those pale blue eyes. Daryl shrugged and didn’t say anything, and Rick let him be for the moment.

The boys parted ways after breakfast, Rick promising to find Daryl later during their gym period. Daryl walked to his locker alone and jerked the door open, dragging his book out forcefully. He didn’t notice the small envelope until it fell out and hit the ground. Frowning, Daryl picked it up and opened it, pulling out a generic birthday card. Rolling his eyes, he opened it, and his breath caught in his throat.

It was a picture of Rick, obviously taken with his cell phone, Daryl fast asleep on his shoulder. Rick was smiling, and even in the picture Daryl could see that he was blushing. Daryl ran a finger over the picture gently, smiling despite himself. He tucked it into his shirt pocket and put the card back in his locker, making his way to his first class.

When he walked into the classroom, a large cup of hot coffee was sitting on his desk. He frowned, thinking it was someone else’s, but when he picked it up he saw a large heart drawn on it with an R in the middle. Grinning like a fool, Daryl took a sip; it was perfect, lots of sugar and just a splash of milk. His favorite. He pulled out his phone and texted a quick ‘thank you’ to Rick before the bell rang. Rick only replied with two words:  _ just wait. _

At lunchtime, Daryl walked into the cafeteria without going through the line, as usual. He sat in his usual spot at the back of the room, wishing for the millionth time that he and Rick had the same lunch period. He was just about to pull his daily pack of crackers out of his backpack when an older kid came up to him carrying two small boxes.

“Hey, are you Daryl?” the guy asked. Daryl narrowed his eyes.

“Who’s askin’?” he growled. The kid rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, Rick said that’s what you’d probably say. He gave me five bucks to give these to you and say happy birthday. So, uh… happy birthday, I guess.” The guy sat the boxes down and walked away.

Daryl stared for a moment, his brain catching up with what just happened, before tearing into the first box. He pulled out a plastic bag of strawberries and a sandwich, which Daryl identified as Mrs. Grimes’ homemade chicken salad immediately. Unwrapping the sandwich and taking a huge bite, he moved on to the second box, which held a large cupcake with a ridiculous amount of blue icing. He grinned as he felt his face getting red. He texted Rick again as he ate, telling him thank you and that all this was too much. Rick simply texted back  _ just you wait, babe. _

In gym, they went outside. The class was mostly passing footballs back and forth, or lounging on the benches outside the school. Rick and Daryl chose to walk around the track surrounding the football field.

“You’re doin’ too much,” Daryl mumbled, ducking his head so he could hide his blush behind his bangs.

“You’re worth all of it and more, sweetheart. Just wait ‘til you get the  _ big _ present,” Rick grinned, his eyes bright and excited. Daryl glanced at him from behind his shaggy hair, smiling. Rick bumped into Daryl lightly, causing the younger boy to push him back playfully.

After the last class let out, Daryl walked to the parking lot to Rick’s truck like he usually did. He’d gotten permission from the Head of the House at the boys’ home to spend the night at Rick’s for his birthday, and he knew Rick’s mother would have the guest room fixed up for him when they got there.

Daryl walked across the lot, mostly watching his feet. He glanced up at Rick’s truck and stopped dead in his tracks.

Rick was leaning against the door, holding a box with a giant bow and camo wrapping paper, smiling at him.

“Said tha’s too much,” Daryl grumbled shyly when he remembered how to walk long enough to get him to Rick.

“Too bad, this ain’t even the last of it,” Rick said happily as he handed Daryl the box. “It’s because I like you a whole lot, so just deal with it.”

Daryl blushed, noticing how Rick had skirted around the L-word. They’d both been doing that lately, and Daryl didn’t like to think about what that meant, so he ripped at the paper for a distraction.

“It’s my old one,” Rick said nervously as Daryl pulled a portable DVD player out of the box. “We have Netflix and stuff now, so I don’t really use it, but I know at your place you don’t really ha—“ Daryl cut him off with a quick kiss, short but sweet. Rick grinned from ear to ear as the redneck pulled back and looked at the DVD player.

“S’ perfect,” he mumbled quietly, putting it back in the box carefully. He hugged it to his chest, keeping his eyes cast downward as he circled to the passenger side and climbed into the truck. Rick was still grinning like an idiot when he climbed in and pulled out, heading for his house.

When they got there, the boys walked in to the smell of fried chicken. It was Daryl’s favorite, and Mrs. Grimes knew that, if her small smirk was anything to go by.

“Hi boys!” She said as they walked into the kitchen. “Happy birthday, Daryl! Can I get a hug?” she smiled warmly at him. Daryl blushed and nodded, giving her a small squeeze. Mrs. Grimes hugged him tight and kissed his cheek before letting him go.

“Go ahead and put your backpack and your present in the guest room, okay sweetie?” She patted Rick’s cheek. “Go help him get settled, dear, the chicken will take a while. I’ll holler when it’s done.”

“Thanks, mama,” Rick smiled. The boys left the kitchen, Daryl leading the way to the guest room he’d used several times before. He opened the door to see a few Happy Birthday balloons floating around, as well as a small package wrapped in the same camo paper as his other gift lying on the pillow.

“ _ Rick! _ ” Daryl nearly yelled at the other boy, but he pounced on the small gift, slinging his backpack to the floor and setting the DVD player beside him on the bed.

“Just open it,” Rick said, leaning in the doorway and watching him. Daryl ripped the paper off without hesitation this time, and Rick watched his entire face light up when he saw his newest present. “It’s still your favorite, right?” he asked. Daryl looked up at him, and Rick swore the kid was holding back tears.

“You know it is. S’why I made ya watch it a hundred times,” Daryl said. He looked down at the DVD case in his hands-  _ Where The Red Fern Grows _ , his favorite movie since he was a little kid. He sniffled a little, hiding his face behind his hair.

“You’re so perfect,” he whispered, referring to Rick. The other boy shook his head.

“I’m far from it, babe, but I’m glad you think so.”

Daryl flung himself off the bed, moving with an ease he only could around Rick. He hugged the other boy so tight it had to hurt, but Rick held him anyway.

“So that was my big present, huh?” Daryl smiled as they pulled apart. Rick shook his head.

“Nah, that’s outside. C’mon,” He said, leading the way to the back door. Daryl followed him.

Rick stopped just before he opened the door and turned to Daryl. “Hey, is it okay if I cover your eyes? I won’t let you walk into anything I promise.”

Daryl froze for a second, his eyes going wide. He took a deep breath and tried to relax, even as Rick was backing off.

“Never mind, that was a stupid idea. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—“

“Go ahead,” Daryl interrupted. Rick looked him in the eye, reading him, seeing if Daryl was really okay with it.

“Are you sure?” He asked softly. Daryl’s heart skipped a beat as he stared into Rick’s deep blues.  _ It’s Rick, _ he reminded himself.  _ Rick would never hurt you. _ He nodded.

“Trust you. Go ahead.”

Rick nodded and got behind him. Daryl closed his eyes as Rick opened the door, then carefully put his hands over the younger boy’s eyes. Daryl was a little tense, but relaxed a little when Rick kissed the top of his head.

“Okay, babe, step outside. Don’t forget the little drop off to the grass… there ya go.” Rick guided him all the way to the far corner of the yard, giving Daryl directions and helping him maneuver around rocks or small holes. Daryl could hear an odd scratching sound, getting louder as Rick guided him farther from the house.

“Ready?” Rick asked, and Daryl could hear excitement and nervousness in his voice. He nodded, and Rick let him go. “Open your eyes, babe.”

Daryl did, and a small noise of pure shock escaped his lips.

There was a big dog house sitting against Rick’s back fence, and two small puppies were scrambling out of it to get to Daryl. Daryl hit his knees as one finally made it out, running up to him and jumping, it’s oversized paws scratching lightly at his chest. The other one finally made it over to him as well, licking at his face as he scooped them both up, tears welling up in his eyes.

“You said you wanted hunting dogs,” Rick was saying behind him, “and I know these are coon dogs, but they’re redbone hounds, just like from the movie. And you always talk about how cute and pretty they are when we watch it together, and I got you a boy and a girl just like the movie, and—“ Rick shut himself up when Daryl stood, a puppy in each arm and tears staining his cheeks as he turned to look at him. He walked towards Rick, smashing his mouth to the other boy’s in a passionate kiss. Breaking the kiss for a moment, he let the puppies down, where they nipped happily at their feet. His now free hands wound their way into Rick’s hair, pulling him in for another deep kiss, sweet and searing and full of all the things he couldn’t make himself say.

When they finally broke apart to breathe, Daryl rested his forehead against Rick’s, two sets of blue eyes locked onto each other. Daryl’s chest felt like it was going to explode, and before he could stop himself, the words tumbled right off his tongue.

“I love you.”

Rick froze for a second, and Daryl was almost ready to bolt before Rick’s face broke out into his big, toothy grin.

“I love you, too,” he said back. They stood there for a minute, grinning at each other like a couple of idiots, their foreheads pressed together and Daryl gripping Rick’s hair.

But then one of the puppies bit the bottom of Rick’s jeans leg and pulled, breaking the moment and causing both boys to burst into giggles. They sat down, each of them grabbing a puppy.

“Come on now, Dan,” Daryl said with a grin, “it ain’t nice to bite. Behave, like Little Ann here is doin’!” Daryl winked at Rick, leaning in and pecking him on the lips one more time before whispering, “You were right. Today was a good day. Best birthday I ever had.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought! Comments make me smile :D


End file.
